Changing dynamics in China-US ties

Editor's Note: President Xi Jinping's upcoming meeting with his US counterpart Barack Obama during the APEC conference will consolidate future Sino-US ties.[Special coverage]

Some Chinese experts aired their views on how the China-US relationship should develop. The following are excerpts from their recent speeches:

US obsession to maintain hegemony

The United States' "pivot to Asia" strategy, aimed at reviving its sagging economy after the 2008 global financial crisis, has proved to be an American fantasy to maintain hegemony. Washington's aggressive military moves across the Asia-Pacific region, to some extent, have hampered the regional economic cooperation it sought to achieve.

By hiking its defense budget to strengthen its alliance with countries such as Japan and the Philippines, which have contributed to the US-led policy to contain China, Washington has brought nothing but rivalry to the region. And its allies are turning into negative assets for the "pivot" Washington pursues in Asia.

In effect, the term "pivot" indicates the US has become a floundering power - though it can still influence the course of international affairs.

Apart from its unparalleled strength, the US hegemony during the Cold War years also rested on the support of its European and Asian allies, which helped "sandwich" the Soviet Union. It is a totally different story today for the US, as the European Union and Japan have their own agendas.

But with conflicts offsetting cooperation between Beijing and Washington, the two sides should never be foes, even if they cannot be allies. China-US relations are complicated, but their interests are intertwined. The US policy to contain China, although the White House denies that's what it is, is evident in US-backed countries raising sovereignty-related disputes with China, especially in the East China Sea and South China Sea. These should stop.

As for China, it should adopt a more active approach to diplomacy with its neighbors to show the US that it is serious about co-building a new type of major-power relationship.

Ruan Zongze, vice-president of China Institute of International Studies

Cooperation still the best driver

The US has not stopped intervening in the Asia-Pacific region since the end of World War II, and its continued military presence in the region somewhat contradicts its "pivot to Asia" strategy.

Ever since assuming office in 2009, US President Barack Obama has paid special attention to the Asia-Pacific region because of China's rise. The aim of the US' move toward the western Pacific Ocean is also to tighten control over Japan and the Republic of Korea, the two allies seeking to reduce their dependence on it.

As for Beijing-Washington ties, given their differences in ideologies, social systems and cultures, the US is still worried that China's peaceful rise will prevent it from intervening in Asia's affairs. China's diplomatic moves and ongoing military modernization have already made it difficult for the US to carry out its strategic deployment in the Asia-Pacific.

Although the US and China can hardly become strategic partners, their cooperation has to expand to deal with burning global issues, such as the Islamic State's expansion in Iraq and Syria and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. In other words, while staying alert to and thwarting US designs to undermine its national interests, China could also adopt a more flexible attitude to and even welcome the latter's constructive roles for regional cooperation and governance.

Tan Hongmei, a researcher at Jilin Academy of Social Sciences

Chinese values hold the key to success

The West-promoted "universal" values will give way to diverse values in the long run since the emerging economies, such as Brazil, China and India, are on the rise. And although, compared with the US, China still needs years to see its values accepted by the rest of the world, its growing economy and influence in international affairs can make it stronger in values.

The US' superpower status can be attributed to its successful ideological penetration throughout the world: democracy, regional autonomy, market-oriented economy, free trade, collective security and the rule of law. These ideas have not only made inroads into most modern countries, but also contributed to the prosperity and stability of their promoters.

Understandably, some countries have cast doubts on China's rise because of their lack of understanding of the country's value system, which despite taking shape is not clear enough.

So, whether China can achieve the peaceful rise it anticipates will largely depend on whether it can overcome doubts about its values. If successful, it will clear the following confusions. Will China change the rules of the current world order or modify it somehow? Can it come up with better ways of dealing with the transnational ethnic conflicts? How should it selectively use its traditional culture to solve the above problems? In other words, China has to convince the rest of the world that its values can answer global governance concerns Western ones cannot.

Wang Chengzhi, a researcher at the Institute of International Relations, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences